Him, we must have the same boldness in proclaiming the truth. From the preacher in the pulpit to the soul winner on the porch, Christians must be firm in their faith and authoritative in their witness.
- Jan 22, 2023With Authority (Mark 1:22)
With Authority (Mark 1:22)There have been many great preachers throughout history. God has used men like George Whitfield, Jonathan Edwards, Charles Spurgeon, D. L. Moody, and Billy Sunday to proclaim the gospel to millions of people. But there is no greater preacher than the Lord Jesus Christ. He is the Living Word who proclaimed the written Word like no one else has.Many things set the preaching of Jesus apart from others, but one of the first things that people noted was the authority that Jesus preached with. They were not used to someone declaring the truth without hedging or hesitancy. The religious leaders they were accustomed to hearing always seemed uncertain and left the door open for other possibilities than what they thought might be true. Jesus, on the other hand, boldly declared the Word of the Lord as absolute, unwavering, undeniable truth. That truth was to be believed and not questioned, cross-examined, or factchecked by bookworms who put more emphasis on what man said God said rather than what God actually said. Things are not all that different in our day. We have an abundance of so-called Bible teachers and preachers who will happily tell you all the ideas scholars have come up with about the meaning of scripture, but it is rare for someone to declare in simple faith, “This is the truth.” Christ taught with authority, and if we are to be faithful followers of
Him, we must have the same boldness in proclaiming the truth. From the preacher in the pulpit to the soul winner on the porch, Christians must be firm in their faith and authoritative in their witness. - Jan 8, 2023Deborah and Barak
Deborah and BarakJudges 4
- Jan 8, 2023Jesus’ First Sermon
Jesus’ First Sermon
Jesus did not begin His public ministry until He was approximately thirty years old. When the time came for Him to begin preaching and teaching, He chose a topic for His first sermon that was the theme of His earthly ministry. Jesus preached the gospel. “Now after that John was put in prison, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel.” (Mark 1:14-15) Jesus’ message was simple. He said that it was time to repent and believe the gospel. Jesus would go on to teach many more things and expound on the meaning and impact of the gospel message, but it all began with this simple declaration. We need to follow our Savior’s example. Too often we overcomplicate our evangelism. We think we have to have attractive promotions, novel outreach programs and witty publications to reach the lost. In reality, the foundation of our soul winning must remain the simple proclamation that Jesus began His ministry with. As we seek to be faithful sowers of the gospel seed, we must simply reiterate the age-old message that it is time for the lost to repent and believe the gospel for salvation.
- Jan 1, 2023Sowing and Growing
Sowing and GrowingThe laws of sowing and reaping were established by God at creation. Everything multiplies after its kind and all living creatures instinctively seek to grow and multiply.The laws of sowing and reaping that apply to nature also apply spiritually. A healthy plant or animal will be growing and multiplying, and so too will a healthy church. In fact, actively seeking to increase the number of Jesus’ disciples is part of the church’s mandate. However, we must recognize that it is the Lord who builds His church and adds to it “such as should be saved.” How much of church growth is our responsibility and how much is God’s?Our responsibilities can be summed up in two words: going and sowing. As followers of Jesus, we have been commanded, “Go ye therefore and teach all ations.” (Matthew 28:19) We have to go out into the world for the definite purpose of making disciples of Jesus. We do that by sowing the seed of the gospel as we are going. “God ye into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.” (Mark 16:15)God’s responsibility is to do the growing. Just like a farmer may till the soil and plant the seed but he is dependent on God using the forces of nature for the growth of the crops and fruitfulness of the harvest, we are dependent on God to make our ministry fruitful. As Paul wrote, “So then neither is
he that planteth any thing, neither he that watereth; but God that giveth the increase.” (1 Corinthians 3:7) In 2023, we need to be busy sowing good seed and trusting the Lord to give the increase. - Dec 25, 2022The Christ of Christmas The Glory of Christ
The Christ of Christmas The Glory of Christ
“Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him,
and given him a name which is above every
name: That at the name of Jesus every knee
should bow, of things in heaven, and things
in earth, and things under the earth; And that
every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is
Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”
(Philippians 2:9-11)Many of the Christmas carols we sing
mention the angels’ glorious announcement
of Christ’s birth. It is true that no birth in
history has ever been announced with as
much heavenly majesty as Christ’s.But the exaltation of Christ at His birth
is just a shadow of the glory that will one
day be given him. When he was born, there
were only a few people who were told. Mary
and Joseph knew. The shepherds were told
by the angels. The wise men saw the birth
announcement written in the sky and came
from afar.Jesus had a humble birth, He lived a
humble life, and He died a humiliating
death. But there is coming a day when He
will be exalted above everything. Everyone
who has ever lived will see the glory of
Christ and bow their knee to Him. They
will also confess that He is Lord, even if
they refused to acknowledge that truth
during their lifetime.Either we can bow before Christ now,
as the shepherds and the wise men did or
we can bow later. But we will bow, and it
is far better that we humble ourselves
before Christ now, receive Him as our Savior,
and live for His glory. - Dec 18, 2022Shamgar And His Ox Goad
Shamgar And His Ox Goad"Shamgar And His Ox Goad" from Sunday PM by Pastor Chambers. Released: 2022. Genre: Religious.
- Dec 14, 2022The Wonderful Mystery of Salvation
The Wonderful Mystery of Salvation"The Wonderful Mystery of Salvation" from Wednesday PM by Pastor Chambers. Released: 2022. Track . Genre: Religious.
- Dec 11, 2022The Left Handed Judge
The Left Handed Judge"The Left Handed Judge" from Sunday PM by Pastor Chambers . Released: 2022. Genre: Religious.
- Dec 4, 2022A Man Named Othniel
A Man Named Othniel
- Dec 4, 2022Oh Come All Ye Faithful
- Nov 27, 2022Mind Your Own Business
Mind Your Own BusinessA busybody is a person who meddles in the affairs of others. The word “busybody” is used three times in the Bible, but the concept of being a meddlesome person and a talebearer is mentioned many more times. 2 Thessalonians 3:11 summarizes the Biblical teaching about being a busybody when it calls it “disorderly.” It is rude to intrude on other people’s affairs,
and it requires you to ignore or neglect your business. Symptoms of a busybody include too much curiosity, too little work, and too much talking. Instead of doing these things, you should “study to be quiet, and to do your own business, and to work with your own hands” (1 Thessalonians 4:11)There is a balance that we must learn as well. Genuine concern and compassion for others must not be confused with being a busybody. But if we are to help others, we must first mind our own business, or else we are not qualified to assist them. We must “first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother’s eye.” (Matthew 7:5)The simple truth is that you are responsible for your own actions. Since you will answer to God for yourself and no one else, you need to be sure that you mind your own business and don’t be “a busybody in other men’s matters.” (1 Peter 4:15) - Nov 20, 2022Influencing a Generation Part 2
Influencing a Generation Part 2"Influencing a Generation" from Sunday AM by Pastor Chambers. Released: 2022. Genre: Religious.
- Nov 20, 2022Influencing a Generation
Influencing a Generation
Joshua and his generation failed to follow through
and fully obey God’s command to drive out all the
inhabitants of the land of Canaan. But when God
confronted them with their sin, they repented and
rededicated themselves to the Lord. The nation of
Israel went on to serve the Lord all the days of Joshua.Judges 2:7 And the people served the LORD all
the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders
that outlived Joshua, who had seen all the great
works of the LORD, that he did for Israel.It is possible to impact our generation for good.
We cannot guarantee how long our influence might
last. We cannot even guarantee how long we will last.
But we can choose to do what is right and be a force
for good in our generation. We can stem the tide of
evil for ourselves and our children. That is what
Joshua and his generation did.We say that we are troubled by the direction of
our country. We say that we are worried about the
future for our children and grandchildren. But are
we sorry enough to repent of our own sin and choose
to do things differently, to do things right? There is
a sorrow of this world that works death. We need
godly sorrow that works repentance (2 Corinthians 7:10).
The hope for our generation lies in our willingness
to repent of our sin and do what is right. - Nov 13, 2022They Forsook The Lord, And Followed Other Gods
They Forsook The Lord, And Followed Other Gods
The book of Judges is a difficult
book to read. Though it contains
happy moments, overall, it is very
dark, and as you progress through
the book, it gets worse and worse.Twice it says in the book of Judges,
“In those days there was no king in
Israel, but every man did that which
was right in his own eyes.” (Judges
17:6; 21:25) How did the nation that
received God’s law at Mount Sinai
end up in such a terrible place? It
happened because they decided to
forsake God and follow idols.Before Joshua died, he charged
the people, “And if it seem evil unto
you to serve the LORD, choose you
this day whom ye will serve; whether
the gods which your fathers served
that were on the other side of the
flood, or the gods of the Amorites,
in whose land ye dwell: but as for
me and my house, we will serve the
LORD.” (Joshua 24:15) Joshua
and his generation chose to serve
the Lord. But the next generation
decided to serve false gods. “And
they forsook the LORD God of
their fathers, which brought them
out of the land of Egypt, and followed
other gods.” (Joshua 2:13).Every individual must choose for
themselves who they will follow. Either
they will follow the true God, the God
of the Bible, or they will follow a false
god, doing whatever is right in their
own eyes. The book of Judges shows
us the disastrous consequences of
forsaking the Lord and following false
gods. The consequences will be painful
if we stray from God and do what we
think is right instead of what God says
is right. - Nov 6, 2022I Know I Can’t
I Know I Can’t
One of my earliest memories is from when I was in preschool. I was four years old and attending Hickory Grove Presbyterian Preschool, where my mom was one of the teachers. Occasionally we would watch movies projected onto the block wall of the basement, and one day we watched the story of “The Little Train Who Could.” I remember feeling sad for the train as his friends made fun of him. I remember feeling anxious as he finally had a chance to prove himself by hauling that big load up that hill. I remember cheering him on in my mind as he chugged, “I think I can, I think I can…” until he finally crested the top. It is
a wonderful story to teach children the values of determination and perseverance.But there is a downside to a story like that. The truth is that there are some things we cannot do, no matter how hard we try or think we can. If we stubbornly push ahead anyway, insisting that we can do something when it is impossible for us, we will become frustrated, angry, and eventually, give up altogether. This is especially true when it comes to spiritual things. Because we are sinners, there are some things that we cannot do on our own. We cannot save ourselves.
No amount of effort will ever be enough to merit salvation or pay off our sin debt. We cannot sanctify ourselves either. Some people teach that salvation is by grace, but sanctification is by works. That is a lie. We are sanctified the same way we are saved: by grace through faith in the person and work of Jesus Christ. Instead of always saying, “I think I can,” we need to learn when to say, “I know I can’t.”
